Hi all,
Received my Bulletin #37 here in north central Illinois late last week and,
as usual, it reflects much painstaking work by many to create such a wealth
of info focused on one particular subject - and that may be the problem.
For the few in the society who are in need of the _particular_ info
contained in each Bulletin, it is a real goldmine; I am sure the handful of
individuals who are interested in division point office buildings, for
whatever reason, were ecstatic when Bulletin 37 showed up in their mailbox.
Conversely though, this also means that most of the membership would find
the information virtually useless. Unfortunately, this means that _any_
Bulletin coming out is virtually useless then in terms of subject/content
that is of interest to the rest of the body of the Society at large.
Before you reach for the switch on your flamethrowers and label me as
unappreciative, insensitive, whatever, please hear me out. I realize that
as an _Historical_ society it could, and should be argued that _any_ info
on the "Q" is of importance, and this is certainly true. But on the other
hand, there are also those with specific interests such as modeling, era,
steam, whatever, who joined to get info on their legitimate, though narrow
as it may seem, individual area(s) of interest. This is well and good, too.
So what I am suggesting is that the extensive info in the Bulletin on a
_particular_ topic, may be best made available for sale to those who want
only in depth coverage of that particular topic. In addition, I am also
suggesting that the Society send out something regularly to the general
membership (read the rest of us) which contains info on _several different
and varied_ areas of interest to many if not most of the members as I have
seen in other society publications. For example, I may not be interested
in reading about steam though many will. That's OK as I can flip to the
next article which may have information/plans/photos on company MOW type or
yard structures, or a track diagram of the month from a particular
location, or remininsces of a past "Q" employee, or consist info. on a
particular train and date. You get the idea. It would certainly be more
than we are currently getting, and would fill the bill for almost everybody
and not just a fortunate few..
I anticipate the arrival of each Bulletin but have also been disappointed
at times after ripping open the envelope and noting the subject covered in
that issue. "Oh well", I say, "Maybe next time". I wonder how many others
have shared this same experience now or in the past.
I hadn't given it too much thought until last Saturday nite at our regular
local train club meeting, a fellow member and "Q" afficianado I hadn't seen
in awhile, mentioned that he had not renewed his membership in the Society
for exactly the reasons I have tried to outline above - and I realized I
had to agree with him. I feel other's may have been lost due to this very
same situation and so felt I must bring it up to all via this list for
discussion/consideration.
Hope this is accepted in the spirit in which it is being offered.
Sincerely,
Paul Kossart - Peru, Illinois, USA
NMRA, BRHS, La Salle & Bureau County Model Railroad Club
Modeling the CB&Q & Illiniwek River Branch in HO - Circa early fall, 1969.
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"Serving Agriculture and Industry in the Illiniwek River Valley since 1904"
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